UMAR IBN AL-KHATTAB’S VISITS TO BAYT AL-MAQDIS: A STUDY ON ITS REASONS AND OBJECTIVES By: Othman Ismael Al-Tel* Mohd Roslan Mohd Nor** Abstract The aim of this paper is to examine historical accounts relating to Umar Ibn al-Khattab’s visit to Bayt al-Maqdis, by focusing on the reasons, aims and objectives. Multiple historical sources with diverse accounts have posed a challenge to modern researchers in determining the accuracy and validy of issues surrounding Umar’s visit to Bayt al-Maqdis. Therefore in this paper the authors gather all the available reasons, compare them and try to link them with the surrounding situation. At the same time, the authors provide explanations of the reasons for the great contradictions among the Islamic sources and accounts. In addition, the reasons behind the different visits of Umar’s to Syria and the work he carried out in each visit is reported and explained. Through the analysis of the early sources, the authors also discuss and analyse the views of some modern researchers who have dealt with this issue. Keywords: Islamicjerusalem, Umar al-Khattab, Bayt al-Maqdis, Palestine, Quds, Aqsa Introduction The discussion regarding the reasons behind the arrival of Umar Ibn al-Khattab in Bayt al-Maqdis and his historic visit involves number of issues. Such issues revolve around whether this visit was a special visit paid to Bayt al- Maqdis by Umar, or his arrival into Syria from Madinah had been for reasons connected with Bayt al-Maqdis, or this visit took place for other reasons, which had nothing to do with Bayt al-Maqdis. Furthermore, we may ask if this visit took place in order to meet certain conditions which were laid down by the inhabitants of Bayt al-Maqdis, and which made it necessary for Umar to come to them. Such questions are in turn connected with many other issues such as: what was the first place which Umar reached at the beginning of his visit and what were the tasks that he carried out during this visit and other visits to the region, in the light of the classification of the stages of the Islamic conquest of Syria? In other words, what were the circumstances surrounding each of Umar’s visits to Syria? Any researcher who tries to examine the reasons behind the arrival of Umar in Bayt al-Maqdis will face significant problems. This is because the Islamic sources greatly differ in identifying these reasons. They differ even with regard to the work Umar carried out while he was there. For instance, the Islamic sources contain an enormous number of accounts narrated by narrators with different political affiliations and areas as mentioned early. Although Islamic sources, or indeed most sources, make the arrival of Umar personally in the walled part of Bayt al-Maqdis a condition laid down by its inhabitants in return for their surrender,1 some other sources link the arrival of Umar in the region to military reasons required specifically by the Palestinian front. He arrived after the Muslims asked for his help in dealing with the inhabitants of Palestine in general and Bayt al-Maqdis in particular.2 There is also a third group of sources, which mentioned that Umar was present at the liberation of Bayt al-Maqdis without mentioning any reasons for his arrival from Madinah.3 Finally there are two accounts touched upon by some sources, which can be cited as legendary or non-historical narrations. Therefore, he arrived after the Muslims * Othman Ismael Al-Tel, PhD, Associate Professor at History Department, College of Arts, Al-Quds University (Abu Dis), Palestine. Email: [email protected] ** Corresponding Author: Mohd Roslan Mohd Nor, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Islamic History and Civilization, Academy of Islamic Studies, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Email: [email protected] 1 Friedman, Yohanan (trans.) (1992). The History of al-Tabari Vol. 12: The Battle of al-Qadisiyyah and the Conquest of Syria and Palestine. State University of New York Press. 2 Krenkow, Fritz (1912). “The Tarikh-Baghdad (Vol. XXVII) of the Khatib Abu Bakr Ahmad b. Ali b. Thabit Albaghdadi. Short Account of the Biographies,” The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 4(1), 31-79. 3 Zawati, Hilmi M. (2015), “Jihad and International Relations,” in Niaz A. Shah (ed.), Islam and the Law of Armed Conflict. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, pp. 288–323. Jurnal al-Tamaddun Bil 12 (1) 2017, 79-91 informed him of this.4 This is because some sources make Bayt al-Maqdis as the first stop in the visit.5 Other sources state that the first place Umar reached was al-Jabiya.6 The issue becomes even more intricate when the same source mentioned more than one account. Some mentioned Bayt al-Maqdis while others mentioned al-Jabiya as the first stop. Also, these sources sometimes talk simultaneously about both, whether they define one of them as the first stop in the visit7 or not.8 The difference among the Islamic sources in defining the objective behind Umar Ibn al-Khattab’s visit has created a division among modern researchers who have dealt with the issue of the Islamic conquests in general terms and those who have dealt with an aspect of the first Islamic liberation of Bayt al-Maqdis. The results they arrived at varied between those who deny that the visit took place9 and those who acknowledge that it did take place, although they rule out the possibility that Bayt al-Maqdis was the main reason behind the visit. Islamic Historical Accounts Nearly all the early Islamic sources cite some reasons for Umar Ibn al-Khattab’s visit to Bayt al-Maqdis. Among the early historians who mention such reasons, is al-Waqidi. He states that, one of the Bayt al-Maqdis Patriarchs10 informed who was besieging the walled part of Bayt al-Maqdis, that according to the Christian prophecy, the conqueror of Bayt al-Maqdis must be a man of a certain description and his name must be Umar. According to the Patriarch, Umar was not present among those who were taking part in the siege. This prompted Abu ‘Ubayda to write to Umar in Madinah and inform him that he had been besieging the walled part of Bayt al-Maqdis for four months in the midst of snow, cold weather and rain. At the same time, he informed him of the Christian prophecy which he had heard from the Patriarch. After consultation with the Muslims, and upon the recommendation of Ali Ibn Abi Talib11 Umar decided to travel to Bayt al-Maqdis where he made a treaty with the inhabitants of Bayt al- Maqdis, on the condition that they pay the Jizya tax.12 A similar reason, to which some refer, with a little nominal difference in the personalities, was mentioned13 who had laid siege to the walled part of Bayt al-Maqdis, and informed him that he would never be able to conquer it because, according to Christian prophecies, the conqueror of Bayt al-Maqdis must be a man named Umar. ‘Amr wrote to Umar that he was conducting a difficult war and struggling for a land which had been held and preserved for Umar. Umar, who knew from the latter that ‘Amr was speaking out of knowledge, came from Madinah, made a peace treaty with the inhabitants of Bayt al-Maqdis and conquered it.14 The Islamic sources, particularly the Syrian accounts, mentioned that Umar arrived in Bayt al-Maqdis in response to a condition laid down by its inhabitants that he personally should be the one to conduct the treaty with them in return for their surrender. In other words, the people of Bayt al-Maqdis asked the Muslims to conclude peace with them on the condition that Umar was personally responsible.15 4 Al-Waqidi, Muhammad Ibn Umar (1966), Kitab al-Maghazi. London: Oxford University Press. 5 Al-Tel, Othman Ismael (2012), “The Geographical Boundaries Of Aelia (Jerusalem) During The Byzantine Rule (135-638 AD): Islamic Perspective,” Jurnal Al-Tamaddun, 7(2), 41-60. 6 Mazor, Amir (2008), “The Kitab Futuh al-Sham of al-Qudami as a Case Study for the Transmission of Traditions About the Conquest of Syria,” Der Islam, 84(1), 17-45. 7 Nor, Mohd Roslan Mohd (2011), “Islamicjerusalem Under Muslim Rule: A Study of the Implementation of Inclusive Vision on the Region,” Journal of Al-Tamaddun, 3(1), 186-208. 8 Al-Baladhuri, Ahmad Ibn Yahya (1959), Ansab al-Ashraf. Cairo: Dar al-Ma‘arif, pp. 150-195. 9 Goitein, Shlomo D. (1982), “Jerusalem in the Arab period (638-1099)” in Lee I. Levine, (ed), The Jerusalem Cathedra. Jerusalem: Yad Izhak Ben-Zvi Institute, p. 185. 10 Ibn Qutayba (1961), Kitab al-Ma‘arif. Cairo: Dar al-Ma‘arif, pp. 203-218. 11 Ibid. 12 al-Waqidi, Muhammad Ibn Umar (1897). Futuh al-Sham. Beirut, pp. 45-70. 13 Al-Baladhuri, Ahmad Ibn Yahya (1959), Ansab al-Ashraf. 14 Donner, Fred McGraw (1993), The History of al-Tabari Vol. 10: The Conquest of Arabia: The Riddah Wars AD 632-633 / AH 11. SUNY Press. 15 Al-Baladhuri, Ahmad Ibn Yahya (1988), Futuh al-Buldan. Beirut: Maktaba al-Hilal. 80 Umar Ibn Al-Khattab’s Visits to Bayt Al-Maqdis: A Study on its Reasons and Objectives Al-Tabari, reported on the authority of Adi Ibn Sahl that the reason for Umar’s visit to Bayt al-Maqdis was that he came to reinforce the Muslims who requested his help against the people of Palestine.16 Ibn Sa’d and al-Baladhuri in Ansab al-Ashraf, reported in an account from Muhammad Ibn Muslim Ibn Shihab al-Zuhri that Umar attended the liberation of Bayt al-Maqdis and distributed the booty at al-Jabiya.